Fort Fork
Encyclopedia
Fort Fork a North West Company
trading post
on the Peace River
, established in 1792. In May 1793, Alexander Mackenzie
wintered there. The fort was used until the NWC merged with the XY Company in 1805, after which it was replaced by Fort Dunvegan, further upstream.
The fort was located southwest of the present-day town of Peace River, Alberta
. No known physical remains of the fort have survived, but there is an archaeological site there marked by a semi-circular depression and a cairn
. The site was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1928.
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on the Peace River
Peace River (Canada)
The Peace River is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world,...
, established in 1792. In May 1793, Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
wintered there. The fort was used until the NWC merged with the XY Company in 1805, after which it was replaced by Fort Dunvegan, further upstream.
The fort was located southwest of the present-day town of Peace River, Alberta
Peace River, Alberta
Peace River is a town in northwestern Alberta, Canada, situated along the banks of the Peace River, at its confluence with the Smoky River, the Heart River and Pat's Creek. It is located northwest of Edmonton, and northeast of Grande Prairie, along Highway 2. The Peace River townsite is nearly ...
. No known physical remains of the fort have survived, but there is an archaeological site there marked by a semi-circular depression and a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
. The site was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1928.